[Below is a letter that Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Charles
Grassley (R-Iowa) sent on Friday to Attorney General Ashcroft, FBI
Director Mueller and DOJ Inspector General Fine, asking that an
unclassified version be publicly released of all or portions of the
Inspector General’s recently completed reports on (1) the FBI translator
program, (2) allegations made by a former FBI contractor regarding
problems in the translator unit and (3) information obtained by the FBI
prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Leahy and Grassley were
notified earlier this week that two of the reports had been completed but
were classified. In 2002, the two senators had made the request to the
Department of Justice Inspector General’s Office that the FBI contractor’s
allegations be investigated. ]

_________________________

July 9, 2004

The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, Director Mueller, and Inspector General
Fine:

It is our understanding that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the
Department of Justice has completed two investigations and is near
completion of a third on issues that we have followed closely. These
investigations relate to the following topics:

(1) Specific allegations made by a former contract linguist, Sibel
Edmonds, about problems in the FBI translation program. Sens. Leahy and
Grassley requested that the OIG investigate these allegations in a June
19, 2002, letter.

(2) An audit of the FBI’s overall translation program, initiated by the
OIG after its review of the allegations made by Ms. Edmonds was underway;
and

(3) Information obtained by the FBI and other federal law enforcement
agencies prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that was
not acted upon, or not acted on in the most effective and efficient
manner. We understand that this report includes a focus on the FBI’s
handling of the so-called “Phoenix memo”; the FBI’s handling of
information about Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person who has been charged
in connection with the 9-11 attacks; and the FBI’s investigation of and
handling of information about two of the 9-11 hijackers, Nawaf Alhazmi and
Khalid Almihdhar, about whom both the FBI and CIA had information
regarding their links to terrorism. Sen. Grassley, in a May 15, 2002,
letter to Inspector General Fine, requested that his office investigate
the FBI’s handling of the Phoenix memo.

The Justice Department and FBI, as the agencies of origin for the
information in the reports, decide what information is classified in such
reports. We have been informed that all three of these reports are
classified and that there are no plans at this time for the OIG to release
to the public any unclassified information about these reports. As a
result, the information gathered in these investigations, which is of
significant public interest and is critical to effective Congressional
oversight of the FBI and other Federal agencies, will not be made
available to the public.

We understand that the OIG has shared its findings with the 9-11
Commission, an action we suggested earlier this year, and one that we
commend. Nonetheless, we respectfully request that these reports be
released in some form to the public. If the reports must remain classified
for security reasons, we request that one of the following steps be taken,
and we present the following options in the order of preference: release
an unclassified version of each of the reports, release a redacted version
of each of the reports, or release an unclassified summary of each of the
reports.

The importance of these investigations to the relevant oversight
committees of Congress—particularly the Senate Judiciary Committee, which
held hearings on the FBI’s handling of pertinent information collected
prior to 9-11—cannot be overstated. Indeed, in recent months questions
have been raised by ourselves, by the 9-11 Commission, and by the media
about the competency and abilities of the translation program at the
FBI—concerns that should reverberate in the highest levels of the
Department of Justice and the FBI. The FBI itself has provided alarming
information about problems in the translation program during briefings to
congressional staff. Yet two years after the allegations made by Ms.
Edmonds triggered two investigations, we are no closer to determining the
scope of the problem, the pervasiveness and seriousness of FBI problems in
this area, or what the FBI intends to do to rectify personnel shortages,
security issues, translation inaccuracies and other problems that have
plagued the translator program for years. The findings of the
investigation into pre-9-11 intelligence are of equal importance as we
strive to understand how important clues were overlooked and how we can
protect Americans by preventing such failures from occurring in the
future.

While we recognize that information is designated as classified because
government officials believe its disclosure could harm national security,
a serious and open-minded consideration of declassification, to some
degree, is in order. The Justice Department and FBI have declassified
information related to the 9-11 terrorist attacks and other national
security issues numerous times over the past few years. The following are
examples of such declassifications.

During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s review of the FBI’s Moussaoui
investigation, in particular, and the process of obtaining Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, in general, the Justice
Department and FBI declassified the procedures, known as the “Woods
Procedures,” used by the FBI to process FISA applications.

In 2002, the Justice Department and FBI declassified a letter by FBI
Special Agent Coleen Rowley to FBI Director Mueller. This letter raised
concerns about the handling of the Moussaoui case at FBI headquarters and
regarding official FBI statements about the case.

The Justice Department and FBI also agreed to declassify information in
the Joint Intelligence Inquiry report of its investigation into the 9-11
attacks. This report contains an extensive discussion of the three issues
examined in the OIG review of the FBI’s handling of information and
investigations prior to the 9-11 attacks.

More recently, in April 2004, the Justice Department declassified memos
and documents written by then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick,
regarding “the wall” restricting communication between agents
investigating criminal violations and agents investigating intelligence
and terrorism matters. These documents and memos were released in the
course of a 9-11 Commission hearing and posted for a period on the Justice
Department’s Web site.

While the needs of national security must be weighed seriously, we fear
that the designation of information as classified in some cases serves to
protect the executive branch against embarrassing revelations and full
accountability. We hope that is not the case here. Releasing declassified
versions of these reports, or at least portions or summaries, would serve
the public’s interest, increase transparency, promote effectiveness and
efficiency at the FBI, and facilitate Congressional oversight. To do
otherwise could damage the public’s confidence not only in the
government’s ability to protect the nation, but also in the government’s
ability to police itself.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter. While we
understand that declassification can require a lengthy review process, we
ask that you at least reply by July 15, 2004, indicating whether you
intend to release declassified versions of the reports, parts of the
reports, or to provide classified summaries.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
CHARLES GRASSLEY

cc: The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman
Chairman Kean and Vice Chairman Hamilton,
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States